Picturing History: Wakefield's Post Office Mural of 1939

Picturing History: Wakefield's Post Office Mural of 1939

4.95

Written by Christopher P. Bickford

Published by the Pettaquamscutt Historical Society

Kingston, RI

2003

This small booklet explores the history of Ernest Hamlin Baker's mural The Economic Activities of the Narragansett Planters, telling the story of Ernest Hamlin Baker and the creation of the mural within the historical context of the Great Depression and the New Deal. Commissioned by the Treasury Department as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the mural was completed in 1939 and hung in the Wakefield Post Office from the time of its completion until 1999. The mural remains part of the Postal Fine Arts Collection, and it was brought to the South County History Center in 2003 so that the public could have access to this acclaimed piece of art and history.

The booklet is illustrated with photographs and other examples of Hamlin's artwork.